Sweethearts
by enticement
Summary: SasuSaku. They were made for each other. Because she was Sakura: "I'm never giving up on you" and he was Sasuke: "No one can love a monster". They are so perfectly odd. She hopes and he denies. And a few friends conspire.
1. Sakura: Princess In Disguise

(._disclaimer.__disclaimer.__disclaimer.__disclaimer.__disclaimer.__disclaimer.__disclaimer.__disclaimer.)_

(wanted some romance in my life. instead created..._this_. fuck life)

(enjoy)

_..._

**x**_  
..._

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—

**SWEET**_HEARTS_**  
**-&-_unbelievably beautifu__l_-&-

—

(**o**)(**n**)(**e**)

**S**_a_k**u**_r_a:  
**P**_r_i**n**_c_e**s**_s_ I**n** _D_i**s**_g_u**i**_s_e

—  
_..._

_..._

_..._

**x**

_  
_The first time she saw him in those passing months was then his shadow crossed her path.

Her emerald eyes looked up from her lap, tiny hands clenched into fists as the feelings that she thought were long gone resurfaced by only one look at his beautiful (--tired, angular, emotionless--) face—which had dark circled underneath his hardened eyes. She blinked slowly; taking in him as if trying to understand why he even bothered to stop in his tracks to stand near _her_.

Her long, dark lashes trembled, fighting the crystal drops that were going to appear in the corners of her widen orbs. Her lips barely opened, (--she wondered why wasn't she screaming--) and her voice was just above a whisper. But she was sure that he would've heard her even if she didn't say it aloud: "...Sasuke-kun...?"

He tilted his head to the left—letting the shining light of the morning sun dance on his jet black locks—as his unfocused matching eyes stared at her. (--_it could be Naruto or Konohamuru playing a prank on you_ a nagging voice in the back of her head whispered--) She suddenly felt completely naked, stripped of the defenses she managed to build up over those years.

A soft morning breeze ruffled her long cherry mane and for a second she lost him from her sight. (--the fear of this being a dream (nightmare_?_) overwhelmed her--) and quickly a thin arm was lifted from the lap of her green dress as long elegant fingers pushed the disturbed curls away from her face.

But then she was free of the barrier made from her hair. He was still there, towering her with all his height. Dry, thin lips pressed together tightly. Pale skin was unhealthily tainted by dark spots on both of his arms (--_training, he must have been, _the voice scoffed, _when was the last time you did that?_--) Compared to her tiny self, the he was big and tall. The black outfit showed his strong hard-corded muscles which rippled with power.

"...it's nice to see you—" She choked back some words unable to detect which of the sounds her throat was about to make were actual words and which were sobs.

As expected he didn't say a word.

Sakura decided to stay silent until the moment he will open that appealing mouth of his and say something that will help her create a conversation in the right direction. Not just blurb about whatever subject will come into that pretty head of hers, but like a man searching in the darkness only to find himself with a hand full of snakes (--_ha, snakes. isn't Sasuke-kun just like a snake. be careful my little blind girl. _the voice was mocking her. mocking her_!_ wasn't it supposed to be a shoulder to cry on?--)

She didn't know how much time had passed since he came back to her (--_100058.100059.100060.100061.100062._--), maybe a minute or two. Or maybe a hole hour. From time-to-time she would open her mouth to speak, but closed it after remembering that she didn't want to speak in the first place. (--_you must have looked like a fish. how sexy._--)

Half of her mind was pushing her to leave the bench. To turn her back to him and just walk away. To show what it feels like (--_you shouldn't try to let him _feel _anything. he never loved you anyway, stupid._--) to get thrown away like a rag doll.

But the other half (--the biggest of them all--) whispered right in her ear: "never. never. never. never. never. never. never. never leave him. or you will die." And that half nagged that she would never see him again.

So she stayed because she was Sakura. And because he was Sasuke. The girl who would always wait for him (--she hoped at one day he will say "I want to be loved" in his own special way--) even if that special boy wouldn't ever love her.

"...Sakura—" she perked up at the sound of her name. "—let's go shopping."

She beamed a smile that might have as well brightened the summer morning. (--his birthday is comin' up, she remembered--) Nodding her head like a small child Sakura followed Sasuke's lead towards the Market Street; not knowing why of all things to do would Sasuke want to do when he came back was go shopping.

A girl like her was born to be spoiled. To attract attention everywhere she went. To be loved.  
Instead she was begging for at least a glance from him. For him to acknowledge her existence. For him to love her back. (--she wondered for a moment why was she such a masochist--)

A boy like him was born hard to love. To be genius/prodigy that would be brighter than his brother.  
Instead he was avoiding the attention he received (--both good and bad--). He locked himself in his empty house drowning himself with each bottle. He wished that people like her would stop trying to save him (--to love him--) because if they won't he might just return their feelings and get saved.

* * *

**-x-**  
"I missed you."  
"I know."  
"I love you."  
"I know."  
"Do you love me?"  
"No."  
Sad smile. "I know."  
**-x-**

* * *

He was back for seven months now.

The details of his return were hazy but she remembered that one day he simply showed up on top of the Hokage tower (--no one ever found out how in the hell did he came into the heart of village _without_ getting spotted--) and said: "I'm back."

She remembered her own fright and confusion (--from being torn apart. it was either him, if he got convicted, or her life. but no matter what, she decided she would choose him--). Her hands were shaking as mint green eyes stared at the door where behind it her master and her love were. Sensitive ears could not pick up any pieces of the conversation.

She felt a cooling sensation of tear drops sliding down her porcelain cheeks.

She recalled Naruto standing right beside her in the same state of mind. His blue eyes held even more confusion than her own, but unlike Sakura he did not think: "don't die. don't die. don't die. don't die. don't die. i love you. i love you. i love you. i love you. i love you."

No, instead his mind was repeating his own prayer: "don't take her away. she's mine. _please. _let me have a chance."

Sasuke, however, after walking out of the Hokage's office did not get arrested or thrown out of the village. He simply nodded in acknowledgement to both Naruto and Sakura, glanced at Tsunade—the woman looked heartbroken—who in her return shut her amber eyes and nodded too.

Sasuke, with a blink of an eye, disappeared from everyone's sight.

Tsunade who noticed Naruto's half-completed attempts to make some sort-of sound escape his sore throat and Sakura's teary eyes sighed and murmured: "Nothin' to worry. He is free. No charges." Sharp glance. "Don't ask why."

Of course _everyone _asked why exactly Sasuke was back and why wasn't he treated like a traitor he was. (--gossip gossip gossip gossip gossip--) but Tsunade would simply sigh and say to "mind their own damn business."while Naruto would glance away mumbling: "Not my story to tell."

And Sasuke just wasn't around to be asked those questions. He always successfully avoided the crowds.

Sakura on the other hand didn't know anything in the first place to be the center of gossip. She would, however, answer Kakashi's questions about her being okay with a beautiful smile and when Sasuke would want to share his life with her—he would.

Now as Sakura walked right behind Sasuke, holding her right arm behind her back with her left hand clasping her forearm below the elbow—a stance she used ever since she was a child. Her green sundress flowed behind her tiny frame like a river, followed by a waterfall of cherry locks. (--murmurs all 'round them: _konoha sweetheart. greatest treasure and traitor. he is one of the kind and she is just a girl. don't bother..._--)

"Ne, Sasuke-kun—" Her voice sounded a little strained. "—where are we going?"

Silence. (--_he didn't answer now. what makes you think he ever will?_--)

"Sasuke-kun...?"

He stopped dead on his tracks (--did she say something wrong? was he about to scold her?--) before grabbing her wrist and pulling in a direction she did not expect him to go. (--was someone attacking them?--)

Instead of being dragged into the dark alley to avoid the enemy and gain the advantage of surprise Sakura was pulled into the small shop. The shop was half-empty. Besides Sasuke and her there were no customers. A man sat on the chair near the register, his nose stuck in the yesterday's news paper. A dark, wrinkled hand crawled out of the coat and waved in recognition while a shaggy dog lying outside the store—panting from the heat—raised its head and lowered it once again. As if remembering the smell of the man that just entered. (--_he must have been to this store quite often,_ Sakura figured, _no wonder no one saw him in the big Market_--)

Wordlessly Sakura picked up a basket and trailed Sasuke who already picked-out his vegetables (--cough_tomatoes_cough--) out of routine. Sakura never stopped thinking why, out of million things to do, would Sasuke ask her to shop with him. (--_do it carelessly babe_ the voice alleged, finally saying something of worth--)

"Have you seen Naruto these days?" She tried to strike a casual conversation.

Sasuke without turning to Sakura continued picking food and mumbled: "Yamanaka."

"Oh _yes_ his newly found girlfriend..." (--what did she expect? that Sasuke after coming back would magically fall for her? That after all those years and promises that she would be there for him he would acknowledge that? And that after all those rejections Naruto would wait for her?--)

"...soooooo..."She began as her eyes fell on the red berries. "why tomatoes?"

Sasuke ran his fingers through his thick hair. (--oh how she wished she could do that--) "Long story."

"All right," (--_now!_--)"why me?"

Sasuke threw her a questioning look and raised his perfect ebony brow. "...?"

"I mean of all people you picked me to go grocery shopping with you? And _why_, after seven months, have you decided to show yourself to the world?" she asked. When a frown curled at his lips Sakura added "And don't you dare stay silent."

Sasuke, like nothing happened, picked up a tomato and looked at it like it was the center of his attention. "Then I'm leaving-"

But Sasuke grabbed her wrist. "Stay." He commanded. His voice was flat, but his eyes however seemed to plead (--_don't leave me. don't leave me. don't leave me. don't leave me. don't leave me_--).

Sakura almost smiled at this. He may not love her, her feelings may not be returned (--ever--), but she was still his friend. And she would still be there when he got lonely (--she will be there all his life--)

"You didn't answer my question."

"...you were the only one I knew," She could see him forcing words out. He never did like to talk. "who would help me."

"Help...?"

Then out of the blue (--or so she assumed--) he turned himself to her. "I need—" he grabbed her chin gently (--her heart was rising at hundred miles perhour--) "—a wife.

"Help me find one."

(--it was then Sakura's mind screamed: _say what!?_--)

**x**

...

...

...

Press yourself against me.  
Feel my heart beating for—  
—you.  
They are the same.  
We are different.  
We are together.  
We are never alone.  
We can change.

...

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**T B C**

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**x**

(Happy Valentine Day! :3)

(Just realized how much of an ass Sasuke turned out)

(As some of you might know I'm a review whore so it would be nice if you guys gave me more reviews with your opinions so please: _REVIEW~!! _:D I **heart** you guys)

.rumour-kun.


	2. Sasuke&Sakura: Something Delightful

_(.disclaimer. disclaimer. disclaimer. disclaimer. disclaimer. disclaimer. disclaimer. disclaimer_.)

(beta: **danielie**. thank you, sweetie! :D)

(wrote this under the influence of two or three bottles of Bacardi: Breezer and couple of apples. so like the Box Ghost used to say: "Beware_!_" * flees to the batmobile*)

(deleted previous chapter two. naruino will come up again, as ino's Disney muses but...aside from that it sucked. too rushed)

(have you guys barfed at the latest manga? it sucks shit dudes. ooc is everywhere, and villains are now sprinkling daises or rainbow and puppies; no dead people there I see.  
at least Sasuke is all: Let's go, bitches. Let's whoop Konoha's ass and see if we can save this manga from certain doom.  
but also **WTF?_!_** Kishi, you are dead to me. dead. along with the manga.  
...at least we get some sasusaku hints in it)

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•

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—

**SWEET**_HEARTS_  
-&-_unbelievably beautiful_-&-

—

(**t**)(**w**)(**o**)  
**S**_a_s**u**_k_e **&** _S_a**k**_u_r**a**:  
_S_o**m**_e_t**h**_i_n**g** _D_e**l**_i_g**h**_t_f**u**_l_

—

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...

•

Her throat tightened and her tongue got numb, the painfully big knot in her stomach moved up; she felt like she was going to choke anytime soon. Unmistakably he was dreadfully serious, she could tell – she knew him well after all, his intense eyebrows were lowered and a few wrinkles marked his forehead. There were a few things that gave off his annoyance; pressed lips and stiff expression were two of many. But his eyes, oddly enough, were still two pools of fixed emotion.

She felt that there was nothing behind those eyes, her mind suggested that Sasuke was dead and this is only his shadow. Maybe that was true, maybe this Sasuke was cold and transparent as ice, but she still hoped that right now – like old times, his eyes would spring with an unhidden blazing fire of anger which she had feared and believed in years ago, and now frantically wanted back.

Sakura had believed in absolutes, though she had been taught not to put faith in them. It was not fashionable, it was not good politics, and most of all, it was extremely dangerous. (--_how can you believe in pure good and evil when you are a shinobi? what are you, then?_--) When Sakura was little, her mother told her that you couldn't divide the world into clean shreds of perfectly lined black and white. There were in-betweens, there always would be (--naruto was brilliantly white with smeared black spots--) but Sasuke, in the back of her mind, stayed that wishful knight in ashen armor tainted by scarlet; however you couldn't color Sasuke black or white.

He's gray. Or better yet, he's red as blood.

And she swallowed a comb of spit down her gullet, nervously she tucked her light and short dress down straightening the wrinkles; she didn't want his eyes to bleed red. She was fighting off an urge to scream for a second which felt like hours now. (--but if she did shriek she would that would have attracted attention. and right now strangers' interest was_ the last_ thing she wanted--)

"What_?_" her voice was crispy; Sakura cleared her throat and held out her hand for a moment of pause. "Sorry. Where was I? Oh yeah. _WHAT?_"

She was one of those kunoichi who looked like visions of a dream, with their slender arms and legs; their tall model height; their puffy pink lips; their styled hair; their sugary-wicked smiles; their hush-hush voices—after all being sexy is their job.

She didn't create a brunch of her own style of work, female shinobi rarely stepped outside of the ancient rules of seduction and spying. But each one of them was unique, in their own ways, in the smaller details and simple gestures.

Sakura is willowy lovely, slightly airheaded and definitely brilliant. (--_hello kitty, goodbye heart_--) And sometimes, she followed her instinct and slipped into a natural role of an everyday typical Lolita.

Now for the second time today she thought of how unattractive she looked with her mouth gaping and pupils wide. Really, she must have had some fish genes (--_ha! like Kisame_--) in her since she continued to be, for the lack of a better word –_downgraded_.

Green observed, with horror and fascination, how the man's perfect Batman jaw tightened and he growled with his voice low. He didn't move an inch, only his aura stiffened (--_jeez! talk about mood swings! wasn't he the one who asked for your help? why the hostility?!_again Sakura wished the voice in her head would shut up--) and became more frightening.

From the corner of her eye Sakura noticed that a beautifully round tomato, perfect in every way - the same color of the eyes Sasuke hoped not to activate right now - had slipped from her grasp and rolled to the floor without even a bump.

"Keep your voice low, Sakura." Sasuke hissed through his teeth, his palm grabbed Sakura's arm and he pulled her closer – for a more private conversation. The bloody women have not yet realized how loud her voice is. Hags outside are perking their ears, and gossip queen Kiba might be around – he had enough talk around the village about him to allow false rumours spread.

"Why should I?" (--_hello female hormones and desperate need to be an independent raw-ing woman. _inner voice practically clapped hands in excitement. _hands on the hips? check. pouting mouth? check. annoyed voice? check. all right, activate battle mode!_--)

Immediately normal, classy Sakura caught on what her inner voice pushed her to do, but being a kunoichi she had to act decently, and now partly embarrassed, Sakura shoved Sasuke towards a farther corner of the shop (--damn her hand hurt now. why was he so firm?--) and hissed. "Alright I get why I should refrain from being loud but explain to me again; what the hell_?_"

Stern and stubborn (--calculating, cunning, cute in that aggravating, irritating way--) Sasuke let out a soft sigh of frustration. Why wouldn't this bloody girl just listen to him? (--for a second he missed the lamb that used to follow him around with no hesitation--) He wasn't used to repeating himself.

"I. Need. A. Wife." Sasuke's voice was clearly annoyed. Good, let him be frustrated; Sakura decided. Because him being irritated was probably the only thing her mind could comprehend. After all, nothing but Sasuke's emotions made sense in this bizarre world. (--_sarcasm isn't your best thing_--)

"I got that the first time you said it." (--_yeah! go girl power! _fuck girl power! act normal sa-ku-ra. don't come off with a psychotic vibe now. you are not fifteen anymore, having adolescent mood-swings is no longer a justification--)

An adorable pout began to form on the kunoichi's pink, shapely lips. "I need a reason."

Closed dark grey eyes, pressed together lips, tight jaw, controlled restrained breaths.  
"There is no reason."

Those four simple words struck her like lighting. She swallowed her breath along with her pride. Such silly things as respect meant nothing to the man in front of her.

"Fine then."

"Fine."

"Fine." Sakura poked his chest.

"_Fine_."

"Good_!_"

"Good**.**"

"Goo—_oh! _bugger. Let's not make a public scene, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke was half-tempted to say: too late for that. Or at least start _Fine_-ing again but he values his chest more than being the final _Fine_-er or _Good!_-er. He instead he just raised his eyebrow and made a mental memo to check his abdomen later for bruises.

"Transport us to a more _private _place, or something." Sakura waved her hand lightly.

Sasuke only rolled his eyes, clearly thinking how much of a moody weirdo she was. (--not that she cared..._that_ much. _yeah right!_--) He made some sort-of hand signal to the old man up front who just beckoned him in acknowledgement and permission. So Sasuke just picked up both grocery baskets and grabbed Sakura's wrist.

He didn't do any handsigns or drop a smoke bomb to run unseen like Kakashi always does and yet when Sakura opened her eyes the next second, green saw brown wood of the floor, and her stomach twisted in knots. Fighting off an urge to vomit she understood that Sasuke did not travel like normal Jounin. No puff of smoke, no click of the fingertips.

No illusion. Just speed.

•

Ordinary boys  
Embrace their destiny  
Ordinary girls  
Are not too far off  
A smile printed on the white shirt  
The portrait is irreproachable  
Can you hear someone calling:  
_Who are you?_

•

Sasuke _ahem_-ed, rather politely, (--which was kind of odd for the usually rude man--) and offered Sakura a helping hand when she almost fell sea sick on his living room floor. After she was on her feet and her breakfast stayed in her stomach Sasuke pinched the bridge of his long nose in a distant and weary thought.

The muscles in his board shoulders tighten just a bit, the veins in his neck pushed the blood a little faster than usual and more oxygen entered the brain – he learned a lot of things in Sound; almost complete control over his systems was one of them.

But—

"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura bit her lip, but the gaze was firm. "why exactly are we at the Uchiha Complex."

—he wasn't used to people, that's for sure.

"I have to show you something."

(--_he doesn't say much, doesn't he?_--)

He grabbed her wrist and guided her through a labyrinth of halls and terraces. Rooms with open windows and sunshine running through them flashed because he never bothered to stop. (--they moved so fast. and the world continued to disappear. and they didn't bother to catch up. not in the past they lived – the past was an untouchable dream – not in the marvelous present with opportunities. but somewhere in the middle, where nothing existed except for repressed emotions--)

They stopped in front of portrait covered with dust. (--she breathed rapidly and he just froze--)

The Uchihas looked stern and calm, they proudly kept their heads up, backs straightened in all the mightiness of their height. (--in this family the weak were not kept and that has been going for centuries--) They were all alike and she thought of how out of place her pink hair and fair complexion were. The Uchihas were dark and made of moonlight shine.

She looks at the picture and thinks that he must be overflowed with nostalgia. "I see them in my sleep. And hear their voices during the day."

"You do?" He slowly nodded, unsure a bit. "Why are you telling me this?"

"So you will understand that I must never look back. To avenge my family, I had to forget about past and walk straight without hesitation—"

"Mercilessly."

"—and you need to remember that my love for you is in the past."

She doesn't look at him but at his father and mother. The couple looks like a reflection of each other; they are like a moon and the shadow of it. Fugaku and Mikoto. They have a certain ring to it.

_Sasuke and Sakura_.

They had that ring too. And maybe the modern Uchiha couple would have been like his parents on the portrait if he didn't—

(--**«**his words strike her light lighting, _"I think I could have loved you," _he didn't finish the sentence. she knows the end: _if we were entirely different people_. tears poured down her face._"I love you through everything Sas_—**»** her memories are better to be left alone--)

—lay their love on the ground, right near his forgotten heart. "We can never go back to what we had, can't we?"

"No." It was simple. Good days had passed by and they missed the opportunity. Something like what they had only happened once in a lifetime. Fate didn't give second chances. (--_you two have missed the happy ending_--)

"But we can start something new?" She is hopeful but he is realistic. They know the same thing, so he doesn't lie when he answers—

"I hope so..." (--somewhere within him still resides the gentle Uchiha Sasuke-kun that she loved so much in the past--)

—and it was an answer enough for her and she dropped the subject. Complication was an understatement when it came to Sasuke and Sakura.

(--_to fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead_--)

Her mind drifted off to a closet she kept in her soul and green eyes peeked into it. There were so many things in there; broken bones and crushed hopes, pieces of memories that were better left forgotten—

(--_"what am I to you?_"  
he does not answer for a while. _"fir_—--)

—and untouched. Green eyes blink and saw pallid color. (--_memorized each thread. every wrinkle. remember the wish that was cast once upon a star?_--)

The petal white dress in her closet was hidden, behind the velvet cover and boxes with photos of the life she never had, she thought she could stretch her long, painted blue finger nails and take the paper thin material between her fingers just to—

(--there was a sea in her eyes. she dreamed of waves and sunshine-covered beaches. camera flashes sparkled and she was blinded from tasting the forbidden fruit then suddenly all the humans around were replaced by pure light. ice had colored the naked body silver. never-ending confessions of love. tiny waist, slim legs. she dreamed of so much and she waited for her wish to come true--)

—feel what it was like to be loved. The paradox that is her life was still unsolved.

But in a moment the closet was gone and she shut the door with a bang. And the alluring white door moved further into her mind as she pushed it away. In the real world green eyes looked at the picture again.

From her aunt, a photographer (--who smelled of silver nitrate and silver halides faintly--), Sakura learned a thing or two.

And the most fun fact was that no matter how you put it, everyone seems to smile in front of the rusty camera. Awkwardly, stretched, pasted. (--they smiled, hiding inside their true faces. scared, hurt, and tired selves--) Yet then she looked at the photos of Sasuke – he did none of those things. His face was set with calmness, and a certain hint of puzzlement crossed it. As if he had forgotten how to smile in the first place. So sometimes Sakura wondered, was it him she saw on the old dusty pictures of his family. Or just an illusion, that was meant to fade.

Just a dream.

(--she steals a glance of him again and the haughty, sinister man frowned and his eyes were stone cold. sometimes when your heart breaks, it can grow back crooked. it grows back twisted and gnarled and hard. and hate and pain are too much to take in. _sasuke is that sometimes_--)

And Sasuke's eyes were forever like glass. In them, Sakura saw her own emotions reversed. But behind the dark irises, emotions didn't sparkle. (--he must have the same closet in his mind. except in his case, it's a vault--)

"Say," He turns his head at her call and it hurts her how indifferently handsome he is. "your mother is beautiful."

He continues to stare at Sakura, it doesn't intimidate her at all – he has to right to do _anything _to her, and she will not stop him (--that's not spineless she is when it comes to him. and she wonders who is the real sakura, the romantic girl that hides in the closet in the pink-haired lady's mind with an awful temper and mood swings or the sweet and collected adult who dreams of the unattainable. Sasuke brings out both of those sakura's. and it confuses them--) but the corner of his eye moves just a bit to glance at his lovely mother again. She doesn't blame him. "She could not be any other way."

(--_all of them are fabulous. born or married into the clan – it does not matter. makes us think, doesn't it? but do not be weary, we are twice as good-looking as his mother. we can pull things through, if we want to. _she felt giddy. the voice inside her head was blunt as always. hmmm...they _do _say that the words of truth are spoken from the lips of a child--)

"Is that how you see your wife?" She _almost _burns a hole in his profile, he is wonderfully tall and angular, but he speaks faster, before the sparks star flying from her intense gaze.

"Perhaps..."

"Perhaps?"

"I have not really pictured the perfect woman. For that I need your help."

"I see..." She trailed off and he saw no reason to pursue the topic of her sadness.

He had always taken her for granted, expected her to obey and be just_ there_. And no matter what, she would allow him that. Because sometimes she expected him to there for her too. And he would be. That was a fact. (--she didn't hope. she knew--)

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.  
Minutes passed like snails.

Her throat was suddenly desert dry, and her pretty head was spinning with a million questions, and so many words left unsaid, and so many puzzle pieces missing. She started with a simple one, "So there is no reason."

"No. No there is not." The words were dragged out of him.

"I have a question, Sasuke-kun," She piped up loudly after a brief silence.

"And you expect an answer?" he shot back.

(--Sakura _almost _wanted to strangle him--) "How come you haven't been thrown into jail after you came back?"

"Does that really matter?"

"I guess not. So," she says expectantly. (--she had eyes like the summer. all beauty and true. _someday you will be loved_--)

"So what?"

"So," she exclaims a small _puff _sound escaped her lips, "why do you want to marry?"

"It's my punishment."

His words caught her off guard. Her cheat cards were now blank because_ that _answer was not on the menu. She wanted to play it cool and coquettish and smooth. In reality, all she did was stand on the carpet with her heart beating a mile a minute and no words in her mouth at all. Her mind was a complete blank.

(--he noticed her unsettling--)

"If you want to ask me something, just do it."

"How come getting a wife is bad?" Immediately she remembered what Kakashi told her once, no man wanted to marry. They either did that and then thought of how they were missing out on all the single girls or were simply miserable in their love for their wives. Well, at least the men she associated with were saying—and thus making impressions—that their love lives sucked.

Sakura bit her lower lip twisting it like candy; pushing out yet another stray of pink hair she rephrased the question. "Wait. How come you are receiving a punishment in the first place? I thought Hokage-sama let you off the hook." (--_kami knows why, though_. the voice chuckled. _hey, you think shishou is a cougar? ne, that would have been fun to see_. Sakura almost physically pushed out this kind of thought from her head--)

Sasuke gave her an odd look; she wasn't quite sure what it meant. Had he caught on her scheme? "It wasn't Tsunade's order—" Sakura noticed he called her master by her first name; Sasuke was either on good or _really _bad terms with her. "—it is something I have to do."

They are still now. He stares at the portrait and she looks at him. (--she thinks she can _hear _the ice cream she picked up for him, though he wildly denied he needed one in his freezer, melting. or is it just them. because the heat is unbelievable and it doesn't only come from the midday sun--)

Sasuke clears his throat and all attention is on him once again.

"Sakura," Sasuke almost pushed the word out of his throat. She wondered for a moment if talking was painful for him or if he just forgot the syllables. "I know you loved me." (--it stung then he said lov**ed **as if it were in the past tense. _it should be in the past tense, sweetie_--) "But... I want to change and—"

A hopeful glint in her eyes and Sasuke's will was broken. (--he had to admit it she was charming in a stubborn frustrating kind of way--) He closed his mouth and exhaled loudly. "maybe we can start something new. And move on—"

He quit. She knew that, it was something that Sasuke had done in the past too; start a sentence and not finish it, as if he was lost and couldn't find the needed words. Sakura was about to do the same thing she was doing then they were twelve—help him.

Instead he had proven her wrong; apparently he had _some_ hope considering his social skills. "Hello, my name is Uchiha Sasuke."

His voice was like the crisp of old wordy pages of the long forgotten past, it tickled her ears, he sounded like a heavy rain crashing on the ground in a hot summer night. Each drop, like a bomb, landed on the thirsty ground leaving ripples around itself in the dirt. So his every syllable echoed in her mind a million times over in just a heartbeat.

He outstretched his muscled, uncovered arm (--she noticed that his skin was a darker shade than hers._huh, he really could tan after all._and she looked at him seeing that the slightly feminine features of the twelve year old boy were gone. his face was angular and tight, everything so tense and his eyes so cold. his skin was darker and dustier and covered with scars. her sasuke-kun was gone and this man took his place--) with his palm up, as if he were about to help a fallen maiden to step on her feet, long fingers tensed and waiting for a reaction. Preferably her hand in his as a sign of agreement to his unsaid proposal.

Instinctively she grasped his hand tightly in a flashing fear of losing him; it often felt like he would vanish into thin air like he had many times before, in her nightmares. (--his hand was firm, and steady, and sure, and surprisingly warm. like he had sparks of fire in his palms--) And only then did she realize that this action of stupidity on her part compromised her objectivity in this matter by a clutching sliver of fear, yet she didn't feel any threads of remorse.

He shook her hand, slowly and gently. Like their hands were moving through a thick mouse of chocolate. It was, in its own way, a sign of recognition and acknowledgment of each other.

It's not a secret. It was _never_ a secret. (--damn, the whole village knew that she was _still _in love with him--)

But right now she felt that she could put aside that love; stash it in a box, wrap it up in ribbons of silk and gently push it onto the highest shelf in the deep, dark closet, then, one day, she would peek into that box for just a second but only if she would have the time for that. Because now, those messy feelings for Sasuke were irrelevant.

He wanted to start everything from a clean and fresh and pure but mostly _new_ chapter of their lives. To just forget the hurt and pain and unsaid feelings of awkwardness and she knew that he knew that it was all that they needed.

She smiled; revealing straight white teeth. Sasuke made an attempt to mimic her; corners of thin lips moving upwards and he slowly stretched them, he pulled his muscles just like a normal person did and yet she couldn't help but feel that the grin was alien on his handsome face. (--he really shouldn't smile forcefully--)

"Nice to meet you, I'm Haruno Sakura," was all she said.

(--the box with ribbons of silk that hid her feelings was placed right above the petal white dress--)

•

...

...

...

To give it all up and present myself to you  
It's hard, you understand that  
But I wouldn't be me  
And you wouldn't be you  
If we didn't believe in a dream world

...

...

...

**T B C**

...

...

•

(decided to update since got herself both Sasuke plushie andSakura plushie)

(this mess couldn't be helped. I watched _Secret Garden _and _A Little Princess _again, so go figure)

(...still this ended up being a weird chapter in which Sasuke is bipolar. no shit there)

(Sasuke's point of view is all about thinking while Sakura's more visual than anything)

(now I will be online twice a week, instead of just once in a blue moon)

(so _maybepossoblyperhaps_ I will update faster)

(shamelessly promoting my drabbles: _no legible signs_)

(... and who loved Transformers: revenge of the fallen?)

(p.s. did you guys know that there is _no _plot in this thing?)

.rumour-kun.  
ahem **enticement**, now.  
cool pen-name isn't it?


End file.
